


Pine Tree Sap

by itstimetotimetravel



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Gen, Hurt MacGyver, Hypothermia, Papa Jack, Sleep Deprivation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-08
Updated: 2017-05-08
Packaged: 2018-10-29 09:41:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10851360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itstimetotimetravel/pseuds/itstimetotimetravel
Summary: Mac gets ambushed and must run for his life.  With limited resources and a fuzzy brain, he has to hope that Jack will find him before it's too late.





	Pine Tree Sap

Wide tires rolled over coarse gravel as Jack slowly pulled into the still unfamiliar driveway. He glanced over at Mac, whose face was pressed against the passenger window. Jack noticed a bit of drool coming from the sleeping blond's mouth and gave him a fond smile.

The last 48 hours had been rough, and they didn't even get all the bad guys. The duo flew up to some fancy vacation spot in Vancouver Island to save an important diplomat from a kidnapping plot. Poor guy didn't even have the information that the kidnappers were after. 

Three of the four would be kidnappers were either dead or in custody, but the fourth managed to give them the slip in the middle of a yacht club. With dozens of fancy boats ripe for stealing, there was no question how he got away. Nonetheless, searching the entire Pacific Ocean, or even just the west coast of the island, wasn't a quick or easy task. Jack and Mac assisted the Canadian Coast Guard for hours, but by now the guy could be anywhere.

Pulling the keys out of the ignition, Jack leaned over to nudge Mac's shoulder. “Hey,” he whispered, “Mac, it's time to get up.” Mac gave a small murmur and waved his left arm clumsily. “Mac,” Jack called, a little louder.

“Mm hm,” Mac responded, “'m 'wake.” He pulled a hand up to rub his face.

Jack got out of the car, glancing over at the cabin they were staying at. It was out of the way – perfect for secret agents looking for no one to notice them coming and going at odd hours or discussing classified intel – they had already thoroughly checked for bugs.

Rounding the car, Jack cringed as reached for the passenger door. It looked like Mac was still half leaning on it. Knocking on the window briefly before opening the door, Jack was glad to see Mac catch his balance on the handle above the door.

The younger man had gotten even less sleep than Jack over the last 48 hours, since he had stayed up all last night building some contraption to replace their trashed satellite phone – and honestly, what kind of fancy vacation spot doesn't have good cell service? Granted, they were mostly trying to use their phones while out in the middle of the forest.

Jack hovered protectively as Mac stumbled out of the car. Putting a guiding hand on Mac's upper arm, Jack led the pair to the cabin door. The moonlight was decently bright tonight, but even so, Mac stumbled twice on the way. That, combined with the little bit of weight Jack could feel leaning into him, made Jack eager to get his boy to bed.

Mac had other plans. As soon as they entered the – pretty nice, actually – cabin, he turned directly towards the bathroom. “Dibbs on the shower.”

Jack couldn't blame him, the kid was filthy. Jack was eager to get in the shower himself, but his stomach made itself the top priority. But Jack took an abrupt stop on his way to the small kitchen. They never actually had the chance to go food shopping. In denial, he opened the fridge and all the cabinets. Nothing.

“Mac!” He whined in the direction of the bathroom. Not hearing a response, Jack walked over and peaked his head in the door. “Mac?” The man in question turned his half naked body to the door and gave an inquisitive grunt. “I'm going to get us some grub, think you can manage to not die while I'm gone?” There was a gas station about 20 minutes away, that would be good enough and Jack could take the opportunity to fill up as well. They had a long drive to the airport tomorrow.

Mac smirked, “I think I can handle a shower, Jack.”

“I dunno man,” Jack pointed at the little rubber ducky shower curtain and the tub / shower combo behind it, “Those things can be pretty dangerous.” Mac laughed and shooed him away. Closing the door, Jack called back, “Don't slip and fall!”

Mac gave the now closed door a fond smile. He would never admit it, but he kind of liked when Jack micromanaged his safety. It probably had something to do with the giant dad shaped hole in Mac's heart, but he tried not to think too hard about that.

Mac picked up his clothes and put them on the top of the toilet tank so they wouldn't get wet later. He turned on the water and was pleasantly surprised at how quickly it warmed up. Stepping under the spray felt amazing, and he stood there for a little while, letting the heat relax his muscles. 

Jolting his head up, Mac realized he'd almost fallen asleep standing there. He reached forward to turn off the water – he figured he'd be better off just cleaning himself properly tomorrow morning – but he never reached the nob. 

The bathroom door slammed open, the noise startling the hell out of Mac. The door blocked his view of the intruder, but it didn't take a secret agent to guess it wasn't a friendly guest. Fortunately, years of training kicked in and, before the newcomer had fully rounded the door, Mac had yanked down the tension bar that had been holding up the shower curtain. As a black clad, dark haired man raised a gun on Mac, he swung the rod down on the man's head. 

The rod hit, and no bullet fired. Eager to not get trapped in the tiny bathroom, Mac jumped over the man. He instinctively grabbed whatever he could reach on the bathroom counter on the way. Access to random odds and ends tended to go well for MacGyver.

But he was hardly a step away from the man when a hand clasped around his ankle. Barely catching himself on the bathroom door frame, Mac quickly glanced down at the items in his arms, one of which he had already dropped in the struggle. He fumbled a spray bottle of cologne and managed to spray his attacker in the eyes, causing him to let go. In that momentary glance at the guys face, Mac recognized the fourth would be kidnapper. Figures, he thought, this damn case isn't over yet.

Mac quickly backed further away from the bathroom and tipped his last bathroom item upside down. Squeezing, the bottle of hand soap spilled all over the hardwood floor between Mac and the criminal. Turning around, Mac ran for the front door, which he found was broken down and lying on the floor. Damn it, he must have really been out of it in the shower.

He ran over the door and into the cool night. Quickly, he remembered that he was completely naked and dripping wet. But the sound of his attacker slipping on the hand soap behind him urged Mac forward. He turned towards the forest, hoping to loose this asshole in the shadows and chaos of the dense trees. 

At a full sprint, it didn't take long to enter the tree line, which was a good thing because moments after he did, he heard gunfire behind him. 

The shadows were perhaps a bit more dark than Mac had hoped. He found himself frequently stumbling and catching his arms and legs on branches and underbrush, not to mention all the crap he stepped on. But Mac didn't have much choice; he continued deeper and deeper into the forest, trying to turn erratically so that he would be more difficult to follow.

It wasn't long before his attacker stopped firing randomly into the forest, and, eventually, Mac couldn't even hear his pursuer's loud movements anymore. He slowed down, deciding the speed of running just wasn't worth the excessive noise anymore. He wouldn't loose the guy for long if he kept making such a racket. 

He was breathing heavily and his whole body was burning, but he managed to move around making much less noise. He could reasonably be mistaken for a nocturnal animal at this point, so long as his pursuer wasn't right next to him. 

But at this slower pace, he soon remembered that it was a fairly cool evening. He had been fine earlier this evening in a light long sleeve shirt, but now he was soaking wet and completely naked. He yearned to make a fire – he knew it wouldn't take long for him to figure out how to make a spark – but he knew that would be a mistake.

He could do something about all these cuts, though. He grabbed some large, friendly looking leaves as he walked along. After a couple more minutes of walking, he found a pine tree with sap spilling out its side. He used his fingers to spread the sap over his wounds, stopping the bleeding and protecting against infection. He thoroughly coated the bottoms of his feet with the sap and then covered them with several layers of leaves in hopes they would offer at least some meager protection. 

He needed to keep moving, though, so the makeshift shoes were haphazard at best. Pushing away from the tree, he felt the heavy weight of his eyelids. The adrenaline of the attack was wearing off and the meager relief of standing around this tree had made him long to rest again.

He knew he was in trouble if he fell asleep out here, though, and not just from his attacker. Exposure would be a real problem at this time of night with no clothes, even though it was summer time. 

He wished he was wearing a watch, so he might have some idea when he could expect Jack to get back to the cabin. Of course, even when he did return, who knew how long it would take Jack to find Mac. 

Mac yawned, this was not going to be a fun night.

~~~~~~~MACGYVER~~~~~~~MACGYVER~~~~~~~MACGYVER~~~~~~~

Jack's gut dropped as he turned back into the driveway. There was another vehicle haphazardly parked in front of the cabin.

Jack slammed on the accelerator and nearly crashed right into the side of the woodshed as he rapidly approached the cabin. He flung his door open, not even bothering to take his keys out of the ignition, and raced to the front door. 

The door was completely trashed. Gun out and breathing a little too quickly, Jack entered the cabin. It wasn't a big place, and he quickly cleared the main room. But it was obvious where the action had taken place. A small broken glass bottle and a pool of neon blue soap littered the floor in front of the bathroom.

“That's a boy,” Jack whispered, “Kick his sorry ass!” But Jack was still a mess of tension until he cleared the bathroom. No dead MacGyvers in there, he breathed a quick sigh of relief. But where the hell was he? 

On the way back to the front door, Jack quickly cleared the only bedroom, a small affair with two twin beds in it. Stepping back outside, Jack listened carefully, but he couldn't hear anything besides the normal night time noises. He inspected the ground and found obvious signs of running on the soft dirt. 

The tracks led straight to the forest. Not a bad place for the kid to hide, but a terrible place for Jack to track him down.

It killed Jack a little, but before he ran into the forest, he went back to the truck and grabbed the improvised sat phone. He called Phoenix, and after a very brief explanation, demanded reinforcements be sent immediately. He even managed to remember to grab his keys from the ignition and put them in his pocket. 

Then, heart somewhere up in his sternum, he ran full tilt into the forest.

~~~~~~~MACGYVER~~~~~~~MACGYVER~~~~~~~MACGYVER~~~~~~~

Mac was getting seriously fatigued. He hadn't heard any noise that might be his pursuer in god knows how long, and his muscles were burning from all the running and walking of tonight combined with all the exertions of the last 48 hours. And that's not even mentioning the awful coldness in his feet, his fingers, and his . . . sensitive parts. 

He rubbed his hands together and then held them over his nether region for the hundredth time. 

Mac was stumbling more than he thought he should be, considering he was only walking now. That, combined with the growing sluggishness of his thoughts made him concerned about hypothermia. He was still shivering, though, so he figured he wasn't completely screwed yet. 

Over the last several minutes, he had begun to think he needed to start marking his path in some way so that Jack could find him. Trouble was, he needed to do it in a way that wouldn't bring his attacker right to him. 

Normally, he would just build something to help him. Maybe a radio or a flare. But not only was he was a little sparse on tools and materials – he didn't even have his trusty Swiss Army knife – he also couldn't seem to keep his focus for any serious length of time. He'd been considering all the plant life that he walked pass as there was certainty plenty of that, but it wasn't going well. Maybe it was the fatigue, maybe it was the cold, or maybe it was just the fact that he's much better with technology than botany, but for once he just couldn't think of anything. 

He found himself leaning against a tree and couldn't remember how long he'd been standing there. He blinked several times. This was not good.

~~~~~~~MACGYVER~~~~~~~MACGYVER~~~~~~~MACGYVER~~~~~~~

It made Jack antsy, but he used the small light on his key chain to examine the tracks left in the forest floor. He knew the light would be easily seen from a fair distance and it was likely Mac's attacker had a long range weapon like a gun, but he was desperate to find Mac as soon as possible.

Looking at the tracks didn't exactly lessen that desire, as it was immediately obvious that Mac wasn't wearing any shoes. Likely, Mac was attacked while still in the shower, so he probably didn't have any clothes on at all. For a moment, Jack wished he had had the presence of mind to look around the bathroom for Mac's clothes, to check if they were there and grab them if they were. But it was too late now, there was no way Jack was going back for them until he found Mac. He'd be happy to give up his own clothes for the little guy.

One benefit of Mac's lack of shoes was that it was very easy to tell the difference between his tracks and the tracks of his attacker. It wasn't long before the two sets of tracks split apart, Mac's veering to the right and the attacker's keeping straight ahead. Jack decided to stay on Mac's. He cared a lot more about keeping Mac safe than catching this asshole. 

After a little while, Jack saw that Mac's tracks switched from running to walking. Jack knew it was the logical choice to switch to stealth and conserve energy, but he couldn't help but feel like it was a sign that Mac wasn't doing well, physically speaking. He was already near the end of his rope when they arrived at the cabin. 

Not long after that the switch, Mac seemed to stop at some large tree. Jack stopped at it for a moment himself, but couldn't figure out why he would stop here of all places. But from the back and forth path of his tracks, Jack had to guess he was building something to help himself. “Atta boy,” he whispered, “Do your thing . . . whatever that might be.”

He kept hustling through the forest, going as fast as he could without loosing Mac's trail. It became clear that Mac's pace was slowing more and more and Jack's heart officially lodged itself in his throat. What the hell was he thinking going for food? It was his job to protect the young man, not desert him when he was at his most vulnerable. Not to mention, this had to be the fourth would be kidnapper. Jack should have known he would come for revenge. The four of them had clearly been psychotic. 

Jack pursed his lips and ducked under another branch. Moments later, he heard a crack from his left.

He froze, quickly turning off his flashlight. That was the sound of a twig snapping. He raised his gun and eased behind a tree.

He desperately wished this would be Mac, but he knew Mac was ahead of him, not to left. Mac had no reason to double back, and besides, he's too careful to make such an obvious noise. 

Jack waited for several seconds, staring in the direction of the noise. Eventually, he heard the light crinkling of someone stepping on dry leaves. Jack's eyes fully adjusted to the dark moonlight, which barely protruded through the trees. Without his flashlight, he could barely see anything.

He itched to fire, but he knew that would give away his position even worse than the flashlight had – and maybe Jack had gotten lucky and the man hadn't see the flashlight. Plus, what if this really was Mac? Jack could never forgive himself if he shot his partner. 

Hearing more and more rustling, Jack eventually caught sight of exactly who he was expecting, the would be kidnapper. The man was looking around. Jack guessed that he must have seen the flashlight from afar, but couldn't quite pinpoint Jack's location now. 

Jack adjusted his aim. Taking a steady breath, he pulled the trigger.

~~~~~~~MACGYVER~~~~~~~MACGYVER~~~~~~~MACGYVER~~~~~~~

Mac jolted awake to the sound of a gunshot. “Jack!” he whispered. But as he tried to stand, he found his legs incredibly stiff and unsteady. The forest swayed around him and he had to grab the tree he had been sleeping against for support. 

He turned to stare at that tree. He didn't remember stopping at it. He certainly didn't remember falling asleep. Okay, he was a little freaked out, but he needed to put that aside. He had to find Jack.

Mac started forward and found his legs still unsteady, but he determinedly kept stumbling forward in the direction of the gunshot. He tried to be as quiet as possible, but knew he wasn't been as successful as he would hope. 

He'd been walking for several seconds before he realized he might need a weapon. Pausing, he looked around. All he could find was a really not that large stick. But he couldn't delay any longer. Continuing in what he was 75% sure was the right direction (why did he turn around so much while looking for a bigger stick?), he tried to listen for sounds of a struggle.

Mac didn't hear a struggle, but he did hear someone coming towards him at quite the clip. He turned abruptly and stumbled again, but he managed to get mostly behind a tree a few seconds before the sounds of movement reached him. 

A figure stopped very close to where Mac had just been standing, and Mac stared at it for several seconds. The figure was looking around.

“Jack?” Mac whispered, clutching at the tree for support. The older man whipped around to look at him and rushed over.

“Mac! Jesus!” Jack pulled him into a huge hug. “I am so happy to see you!”

Mac laughed, though it was something of a breathless noise. “I, uh, I'm really glad to see you, too.” It occurred to him that he wasn't holding that stick anymore, but he couldn't remember dropping it.

Jack pulled away to get a better look at him and frowned deeply. “Dude, you're not shivering, that is not a good sign!”

Mac looked down at himself and saw that Jack was right. He looked up to see the hairy chest of one Jack Dalton. Mac gave him a confused look, but Jack seemed preoccupied with his stripping. He found Jack's shirt stuffed in his hands and he just stared at it in confusion. He looked up to see Jack lying his jacket on the ground.

Jack looked up at him, “What are you doing? Put it on!” Mac blinked at him but proceeded to put the shirt on. As soon as he was finished, he found himself whisked off his feet, and the gently set down with his butt on Jack's jacket. He noticed Jack's boots sitting on the ground next to the jacket and felt a bit of information overload. Everything was happening so fast and he couldn't process it. What felt like only a second later, Jack was pushing a pair of pants in his face, saying, “Put this on!” He did as he was told, if a bit clumsily. 

Quickly, he found Jack pulling his boots onto Mac's feet. Mac just stared at him. The boots stung on the bottoms of his feet. He could feel that only a few of those leaves still remained on his feet. Then Jack was pulling him back to a standing position and helping him put on the jacket.

“Clothes,” Mac said slowly, “on a cold person.” Jack looked at him worriedly. “I see what you're doing here.” Jack gave him a small smile, but Mac couldn't help but notice the older man was now clothed in only his underwear and socks. “But what about you?” There was something of a slur to Mac's voice.

“Don't you worry about me,” Jack said. “Now, can you walk?” Mac nodded and they were on their way.

Jack seemed to know where he was going . . . or maybe he didn't. Mac couldn't really tell. He had no idea how long they were walking, well stumbling on his part, but eventually they ended up back at the cabin. By that point, Jack was practically carrying the younger man. 

Jack looked around for reinforcements but didn't see anything. He could barely remember his conversation with Phoenix HQ, but vaguely remembered the ETA on backup was relayed in hours, not minutes. 

Jack pulled Mac into the cabin. He was tempted to stick Mac in the shower and turn it on hot, but he knew Mac was too far gone for that. Re-warming too quickly now could hurt more than help. So, they went directly to the bedroom. 

Jack plopped Mac on the bed to the right and quickly removed his shoes and tucked him under the covers. Then he pulled the covers off the other bed and piled those on top. He quickly ran out to the truck to grab the sat phone, a water bottle, his extra ammo (you never know when you'll need it!), and two pairs of socks. He quickly checked in with Phoenix command as he hurried back to the bedroom. He tightly closed the bedroom door, hoping to keep the draft of the outdoors out, seeing as the gaping hole of a front door wasn't really doing this place any favors, insulation wise. 

Putting the phone, water, ammo, and his gun on the side table, he sat on the side of the bed to quickly swap his soaking socks for new ones. Then he pealed the heavy blankets back and pulled the second pair of socks on Mac's feet. He ignored the leaves on his feet and for now. Honestly, Jack was so exhausted and cold that he didn't really have the energy to consider them deeply.

Slipping in next to Mac, he immediately grabbed Mac's hands and started rubbing them between his own. Jack's hands were absolutely freezing this point too, so it was nice despite the stickiness of the sap. Fortunately, Jack was still shivering, so he wasn't too worried about himself.

Mac, who clearly had already fallen asleep while Jack was getting ready, blinked his eyes open. “J'ck?” He murmured.

“Yeah, buddy, I'm here. I've got you; you're going to be fine.” Mac gave him a small smile and curled closer to the older man.

For the first time in god knows how long, the tension in Jack's chest loosened. Mac was okay. They were both okay. Jack rested a hand on Mac's chest. He could feel Mac's heart beating. 

Mac was already asleep again, but Jack stayed awake feeling the younger man's heartbeat for a little while longer. “Atta boy.” He whispered.

The next thing Jack knew, he was jerking awake to the sound of marines' footsteps in the main room. He relaxed when he heard them shouting a prearranged code phrase that meant they were from Phoenix. The beginnings of dawn were cracking through the bedroom window. 

Jack realized his hand was still right next to Mac's chest. He reached up to the younger man's collar. Jack's shirt was big on him, so plenty of skin was exposed. He found Mac's skin to be warm.

Jack ignored the marines behind him. They had entered the room and were now talking on a sat phone. But Jack only had eyes for Mac's sleeping form. He smiled.

Then he started complaining to the Marines about interrupting his beauty sleep. 

Today was going to be a good day.


End file.
